Friday, April 26, 2013

The Lords Of Salem: Book Review

Review by Marie Robinson

Rob Zombie has played many roles—musician, director, actor—but in the
case of his recent novelization of his newest film The Lords of Salem,
he takes on the role of author.
The novel is split into two parts: the
first taking place in 1692, Salem, Massachusetts; the second in the same
city, but present day.

Zombie weaves some historical fact into
his tale; character John Hawthorn was a very real and cruel judge that
took a personal interest in the witch trials. In the novel, Hawthorn,
accompanied by another judge by the name of Mather and two brutish
brothers, is on a mission to stop a coven of witches from raising the
Devil. After catching them in the act of ritual the witches are given a
“trial” to try and have the Christ beaten into them. However, the leader
of the coven, Margaret Morgan, curses the men’s bloodline before they
set her ablaze.

This extremely graphic but undeniably gripping
opening brings us to part two and our protagonist, Heidi Hawthorn. Along
with being an unknowing descendant of John Hawthorn, she is also a
local radio DJ and a recovering heroine addict. Poor Heidi’s struggles
are far from over when she receives “a gift from the Lords”—a wooden box
bearing an odd, cross-like symbol and a vinyl record. Whether the
record is played at home or on the air, it gets the same reaction,
hypnotizing the women of Salem into a trance that often ends in murder.

Our characters may be oblivious but something strange is happening in Salem, and Heidi is at the center of it all.

Lords
of Salem was co-written with B.K. Evenson, an American author who often
dabbles in horror and science fiction. This was no exceptional work of
fiction, but it was still a fun, lofty read. I’m a big fan of Zombie’s
work and I would absolutely pick up anything else he penned, but I think
it is safe to say he is much more confident in his screenplay writing.

The
characters—with the exception of Heidi—were only half-imagined. Some
were given a bright spotlight that winked out of the end of the chapter.
More effort should have been put into the characters and less into the
pulpy text. While the extensive physical descriptions are lovely, they
aren’t always necessary, and not really desired by myself, someone who
likes to work for the story rather than have it all handed to me. There
was a lot of beautiful, dark imagery but I was left wondering what it
all added up to.

I don’t want to sound like I didn’t like the
book and I don’t want to nit pick too much because I think The Lords of
Salem was a decent work of fiction and a quick, exciting read. You can pick it up at Amazon.com or your favorite bookseller.

The film is now out in theatres and is also available On Demand and on DVD in some places.

3 comments:

Found your blog via Bloody Disgusting’s Horror Blog Awards. – Congrats! So far they have been right on the money. I’m really enjoying your blog so far and will definitely be visiting more. –good work and thanks for sharing your horror love!

Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent...

We Wrote That:

*Christine Hadden is the creator, editor, and head writer of the Rondo-nominated blog Fascination with Fear and has been an obsessed horror fan for longer than many of her readers have been alive. She can overlook movie plot holes in exchange for style and atmosphere, rejects both the 3D and found footage phenomenons, values high gore content when done right, always prefers practical effects over CGI, and has an undying love of vampires. She considers Norman Bates her homeboy and claims Jaws as her favorite film. She has written for Fangoria and Paracinema magazines, MoviePilot, and Eli Roth's horror app The Crypt. She enjoys Kentucky bourbon and red, red wine. But not together.

Contributing Writer

*Marie Robinson is an aspiring folklore expert, published writer, and obvious old soul from St. Louis, MO. She considers Roman Polanski one of her favorite directors, The Sentinel among the scariest of films she's seen, and has read both Algernon Blackwood and M.R. James - making her wise beyond her years. In her spare time, she enjoys wandering through misty cemeteries, seeking knowledge and proof of paranormal activity, and prepping her next frightening short story. Besides Fascination with Fear, she contributes to Destroy the Brain and has written for Eli Roth's horror app: The Crypt.